California Legion

California Legion
FoundedJuly 30, 2025; 14 months ago (July 30, 2025)
Location
RegionSouthern California
Grounds
CEOAdam Freier
CoachGlen Jackson
CaptainJason Damm
LeagueMajor League Rugby
2026Runners-Up
3rd in MLR
Official website
legion.rugby

The California Legion are a professional rugby union team based in Southern California that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team was established in July 2025 following a merger between two former Southern Californian MLR teams: San Diego Legion and Rugby Football Club Los Angeles. The team began play in the 2026 Major League Rugby.

History

During the months after the 2025 Major League Rugby season four teams from across the league had merged or disbanded. Beginning with the July 30 announcement of a merger between San Diego Legion and Rugby Football Club Los Angeles of Southern California, the same day New Orleans Gold announced it would not take part in the 2026 season. Less than two months later, in September 2025 another MLR franchise, the Houston Sabercats, also announced they would not be taking part in the 2026 season.

The San Diego Legion, for which the California Legion's logo is based on, were a foundation team for MLR. During their tenure they achieved one conference title, and made two Championship Final appearances (2019, 2023). The Rugby Football Club Los Angeles was established in late 2023 after being relocated from Atlanta.

The California Legion made their on-field debut on March 28, 2026, losing to Anthem Rugby Carolina 39-26 at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, California. California would win their first game the following week over the New England Free Jacks 45-3. The Legion would finish their inaugural season with a record of five wins and five losses, finishing third in the standings and qualifying for the playoffs. In the 2026 semifinals, the Legion defeated the Seattle Seawolves 43-34, the highest scoring postseason game in MLR history to that point. Legion fly-half Coby Miln set an MLR record for points in a post-season match with 23. The Legion would lose to the Chicago Hounds in the 2026 MLR final. Scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou earned MLR Back of the Year honors for the second-consecutive season.

In September 2026, Legion head coach Stephen Hoiles departed the team to take an assistant coaching position with the New South Wales Waratahs. Three days later, former Fijian Drua coach and international referee Glen Jackson was announced as the new head coach of the Legion.

Players and personnel

Current squad

The California Legion squad for the 2026 Major League Rugby season is:

2026 California Legion squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wings

Fullbacks

(c) denotes the team captain.
Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for United States on residency or dual nationality.
Source:

Head coach

Technical staff

The team's technical staff as of 2026 is as follows:

Records

Season standings

Season Conference Regular season Postseason
Pos Pld W D L F A +/− BP Pts Pld W L F A +/− Result
2026 N/A 3rd 10 5 0 5 330 277 +53 8 28 2 1 1 60 69 -9 Lost MLR Championship Final (Chicago)
Totals 10 5 0 5 330 277 +53 8 28 2 1 1 60 60 -9 1 playoff appearance

Honors

Players

Honor Player Name Season Ref.
MLR Back of the Year Gonzalo Bertranou 2026

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Finley, Ryan (July 30, 2025). "San Diego Legion, L.A. club merge; new rugby team will play throughout SoCal". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Digital First Media. Archived from the original on October 7, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Carosella, Vitas (August 7, 2025). "Major League Rugby Bullish About Rugby In U.S. Despite Clubs Folding". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 7, 2025.
  3. ↑ Morton, Finn (July 30, 2025). "MLR confirms major shake-up impacting one of its biggest clubs". RugbyPass. Archived from the original on September 5, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Major League Rugby Down Two Teams for MLR 2026 Season". Americas Rugby News. July 30, 2025. Archived from the original on October 7, 2025.
  5. ↑ Urquhart, Spencer (July 31, 2025). "NOLA Gold future uncertain after competing in Major League Rugby for 8 seasons". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
  6. ↑ Young, Matt (September 12, 2025). "Houston SaberCats, the city's pro rugby team, will not compete in Major League Rugby in 2026". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Communications.
  7. ↑ Leonard, Tod (July 6, 2018). "In San Diego for title match, Major League Rugby reflects on inaugural season, future". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Digital First Media. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024.
  8. ↑ Sandalow, Brian (July 8, 2023). "MLR hoping championship match in Bridgeview is a celebration of rugby". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago Public Media. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023.
  9. ↑ Snowden, Scott (December 21, 2023). "Los Angeles Major League Rugby team name, logo and roster revealed". Santa Monica Daily Press.
  10. ↑ News, Americas Rugby (March 29, 2026). "Anthem start 2026 in style with historic win over Legion". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved August 29, 2026. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. ↑ "Midweek Milestones: Standout Stats from Week 2 of the 2026 MLR Season". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Midweek Milestones: Standout Stats from the 2026 MLR Playoffs!". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Gonzalo Bertranou: Steering the Legion's Championship Run". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  15. ↑ Williamson, Nathan (September 17, 2026). "NSW Waratahs appoint Stephen Hoiles, Wycliff Palu to coaching staff". waratahs.rugby.
  16. ↑ "Legion Head Coach Stephen Hoiles to depart for Super Rugby". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
  17. ↑ "California Legion Appoints Glen Jackson as Head Coach For 2027". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
  18. 1 2 "California Legion". North American Rugby Database. Retrieved January 14, 2026.